Today, Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote to Eric Schmid, the owner of Mountain Billy Gun Lab — a gun manufacturer that produces .22-caliber AR-15s scaled down for children — demanding that his company “cease all marketing directed at minors, withdraw related advertisements, and halt the sale of products promoted in such campaigns.”
In a letter provided exclusively to The Smoking Gun, the senators called Mountain Billy Gun Lab’s conduct “dangerous, irresponsible, and indefensible” and said it “not only threatens public safety but also raises serious questions about your compliance with federal unfair-marketing and consumer protection laws.”
Mountain Billy Gun Lab’s Marketing
The letter from the senators draws on reporting by The Smoking Gun, which found that Mountain Billy Gun Lab’s marketing tactics mirrored those of its predecessor, Wee1 Tactical, late last year, “positioning its scaled-down AR-15s as effective ‘training’ or ‘family’ guns for use by children and young shooters.” Specifically, the investigation uncovered that Mountain Billy Gun Lab had shared and reposted several Instagram videos depicting children firing its AR-style “GOAT-15” rifles and pistols, as shown below.
As the senators noted, “Photographs reviewed in that reporting display minors handling and firing the scaled-down AR-15 variants, often accompanied by marketing language that frames these weapons as ‘accessible,’ ‘approachable,’ and appropriate for younger shooters. These visuals and captions strongly suggest that Mountain Billy Gun Lab’s promotional outreach continues to appeal to minors — a practice that, whether intentional or not, raises serious questions about consumer safety and lawful marketing.”
Since that reporting, Mountain Billy Gun Lab has only posted more content on Instagram featuring children. For example, a recent video shared by the company depicts a young girl dressed as a ballerina and holding a GOAT-15 equipped with a silencer.
The company also used an Instagram post to announce that it is sponsoring a teen boy as its first competitive shooter. Schmid is standing next to the boy.
More recent examples from social media are shown below.
In 2022, Senators Markey, Warren, and Blumenthal joined others in calling for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Schmid’s previous company, Wee1 Tactical, and its marketing of the JR-15, a gun identical to the GOAT-15. As the new letter notes, the senators publicly criticized the company at the time “for using child-oriented branding and imagery that appeared designed to attract minors to assault-style firearms.”
A Full Accounting
To better understand his company’s marketing practices and “compliance with applicable federal laws,” the senators asked Schmid to answer several questions, including whether the company “engaged with outside counsel or compliance consultants to assess regulatory risks associated” with the company’s branding.
The senators also asked Schmid to:
- “Identify the intended and actual target markets, including any age-specific consumer research” for the company’s products;
- “Provide copies of all internal safety evaluations or age-appropriateness assessments for products designed or marketed for ‘new shooters’ that could reasonably include minors”;
- “List all marketing personnel, agencies, or consultants responsible for approving social-media content directed at or likely to reach minors”;
- “Provide all social-media content, postings, and campaign analytics for Mountain Billy Gun Lab accounts since the rebranding”;
- “Describe any internal policies governing age-targeting on marketing platforms used by the company”; and
- “Provide all memoranda, opinions, or communications evaluating the company’s compliance with Section 5 of the FTC Act or related unfair or deceptive practices standards in connection with advertising since May 2022.”
In closing, the senators said that they “expect a full accounting of Mountain Billy Gun Lab’s practices and immediate corrective action.” Schmid has until May 18, 2026, to respond.